Bumps in the Road
by Little Fire Sprite
Summary: On the way home from a series of away games, Duke reflects on the team and how they've grown closer to each other since coming to Earth.


Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks are anything related to them. However, I did borrow them to write this story, the story line is mine, no stealing. This is takes place after another story that is still in the process of being written and makes a mention to it, but it is not necessary to have read that one in order to understand or enjoy this one. Enjoy.

**Bumps in the Road**.

Duke stretched his feet out in front of him enjoying the feel of his muscles being stretched out. They were still several hours outside of Anahiem, on their way home from a series of away games. They were good games and the team had played extremely well. They had, after all, won 7 of the 8 games.

The Migrator hit a bump, jostling him slightly. Mallory was asleep in the seat next to him and the slight bump caused her head to fall on his shoulder. Looking down at the red head, Duke noticed how young she looked when she was sleeping. He was kind of glad he got to see her like this—normally she had that mask on; the one had her as a hard-as-nails, don't-need-anyone, tough girl. In the past year, heck, the last four months he had only seen that mask slip, well he could count the times on one hand; and those few times had always revealed a young girl who had discovered to many of the harsh realities of life too soon. Sometimes Duke wondered if all of those lessons were learned at the hands of the Saurians or if some of them were from before the Invasion. The Saurians could be cruel, but they had nothing on the cruelty of a fellow duck inflicting those lessons. Nosedive had that same haunted look in his eyes—they both could hide it behind their individual masks well enough—but it was there, ready to show through the minute they let their mask down. From his talks with Wildwing, Duke knew Nosedive had learned those lessons from the Saurians, but Mallory never talked about her past life and there was no one else to ask.

Another stronger bump in the road caused Mallory to slip slightly in her seat. Duke wrapped his arm around Mal's shoulders and pulled her in closer. She shifted in her sleep, pulled her legs up into the seat and snuggled against him. It amazed him that Mallory, unconsciously at least, felt comfortable enough around the team that her guard was able to slip.

As Mallory sighed in her sleep; Duke instinctively tightened his arm aroung her. The last two weeks of games had been hard on her. She was still recovering from the injuries she had sustained not only from Rawson in their last game against the Redwings, but those that Dragaunus and his goons had inflicted when they managed to kidnap her. The injuries made playing hockey, well it wasn't the smartest move in the world. NHL regulations wouldn't let her play with the wrist Tanya had her wearing so they had to wrap it tightly. Her chest also had to be wrapped to protect her ribs. Luckily, the concussion had healed, but the ribs made her a little slower to recover from the hits of the game. Her wrist, injured and wrapped, as it was, affected her shots, as well, and they weren't as right on a usual. While no one else blamed her and it certainly wasn't her fault, Mallory blamed herself for that one loss they had at the beginning of this past away game streak.

In the seat in front of him, Nosedive muttered something in his sleep causing Wildwing to look over from his driving. As he did so he caught sight of Duke and Mallory. A raised eyebrow said everything; Wildwing also apparently realized that the significance of Mallory falling asleep. As Wildwing turned back to the road, Duke was again lost to his thoughts. They had come a long way in the last year, course, guess getting thrown though dimensions would cause a few changes. Mallory's occasional slips were proof enough of that, Nosedive's too.

Duke knew that Mal and Dive weren't the only ones who were warming up-they all were. Tanya wasn't devoting every waking minute of her life to science; Grin, well Grin was Grin. But he definitely could definitely tell that he too was relaxing. A sort of kinship had developed between Wildwing and him: probably because Wing was the leader and Duke was the oldest member of the team and he knew what it was to be the leader, his time in the Brotherhood had taught him that. He viewed and cared for Dive as a younger brother, something he hadn't felt for his own brother; and he wasn't the only one, he knew Dive regarded him as an older brother. His relationship with Mallory was harder to define. At times, he felt like an older brother to her but at other times, well, he was definitely attracted to her; and for all her bluster, he was sure she felt the same. Duke had suspected that Mallory's strict adherence to the rules was part of her mask and the few times that the mask had slipped, confirmed those suspicions.

Another bump in the road caused Mallory's head to bounce slightly on Duke's shoulder. Glancing down at her, Duke was surprised to see that a small smile of contentment was on Mal's face. Giving her shoulders a quick squeeze, he stretched his legs out again and settled down in the seat until he was comfortable enough to fall asleep. Yeah, they were all learning to trust each other and as Duke thought about it—as long as they had each other, they'd be okay, all of them. They may be in another dimension, on a strange planet filled with strange beings and strange customs—but they had each other. "Yes," Duke thought as he closed his eyes, "Yes, everything would be all right."


End file.
